Kalamazoo man builds B-25 model plane in honor of his grandfather after a decade in recovery

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Seconds before the accident that changed his life,
34-year-old Ben Flaten remembers standing in his friend's front yard. It was
dark, and he recalls hearing the sound of a
car approaching about 100 yards down the road.

The next thing Flaten remembers
from that night is waking up in Bronson Methodist Hospital's trauma unit, with
doctors talking above his head.

"I am lucky to be alive," said
Flaten, who later found out that he was struck by a car going 75 mph near the intersection of Portage Road and U Avenue in southern Kalamazoo County on May 13, 2002.

Flaten, a 2010 STAR Award winner and a metal artist who had taken art classes at Kalamazoo Valley Community College prior to the accident, has now finalized his dream project. It's taken years of recovery to get to where he is now, nearing completion of a B-25 Mitchell model plane to honor his grandfather, a World War II veteran who died in 2002.

As a result of the accident back in 2002,
Flaten, who was 23 at the time, suffered several broken bones causing
severe damage to his nerve system, and he used a wheelchair for years
following the accident.

"I have enough metal in my body to build a
small bridge," said Flaten, who still suffers from chronic pain as a result of
the accident.

He wasn't able to work full-time on
his metal artwork for years.

In January 2013, Flaten decided to enroll with the Kalamazoo Institute of Art's Kirk Newman Art School, and started out in a beginner's class for welding, before continuing with a metal art class the following semester.

Today, Flaten's model plane needs only minor touches before its finished. It is a 19- by 20-foot replica,
mostly made from scrap metal.

"It feels like this is the only
thing I have left of my grandpa," said Flaten, as he held back tears. "He
was my substitute father, the greatest man ever. I wanted to build this in
honor of my grandpa."

His grandfather, William
Olvitt of Portage, was a 1st lieutenant who served during WWII on the French Island of Corsica, located just west of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. He attended Kalamazoo College and played football there for a short time before enlisting in the Army Air corps in 1942, according to his obituary.

Over the past year, Flaten has
spent every hour possible to work on the model plane in one of the studios at the Kirk Newman Art School.

"I have worked on it every
day, from open to close," said Flaten.

Flaten's art instructor, Rick Butler, said Flaten started to work on the model plane in June, and that Flaten has been able to accomplish a lot over a short period of time.

"It's been a long project," said Butler.

Paul Nimz, one of Flaten's former classmates, said he has been amazed at Flaten's creativity and persistence during the process.

"He ran into many challenges while building (the plane), and he had to adapt," said Nimz. "

Christina Cantero is a reporter for MLive/the Kalamazoo
Gazette. You can reach her at ccantero@mlive.com.
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